Sana
by DanishNomad
Summary: A Mission becomes life changing for Stiles and his friends, when they discover that the weapon they were looking for was a girl. She won't tell them her abilities out of fear, but now she has to be introduced to this world, having never seen it before. It's funny how seeing someone discovering the world for the first time, can make you see things differently. M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Disclaimer - i do not own the characters, i just puppet them around. Please leave a review - not sure if I'm going to keep uploading this here, or just write it for my own sake. _Sana_

Stiles ran into the hunter's headquarters as quietly as he could with Lydia right in his heels. They had to find the weapon. They were on a mission so to speak, instigated by Derek and Scott. The only issue was that the building where the weapon was held, was riddled with wolfsbane, hence why the only human people of the pack was now on a crazy mission, that could only go wrong.

"Stiles, I don't think there's anyone here" Lydia said, reaching up to bunch her fist in his shirt sleeve.

Derek and Scott had been tasked with luring as many guards out as possible, and by the looks of it, they had succeeded in luring almost everyone out. Almost.

Rounding a corner, Stiles heard some men talking.

"I think there's just a few left" he whispered.

"Should I scream?" the banshee asked, but Stiles just held up his hand to silence her.

He looked around, trying to figure out a plan.

"Not yet, let's just think about this. That room is the only room that has guards. Meaning that's where the weapon is, right?" Lydia nodded.

"okay...okay…" Stiles looked around in a hurried matter.

He looked back at Lydia.

"You know what…yeah…scream. I'll run in and grab it while you keep the guards in check, okay?"

"Okay" Lydia looked up at him with her doe-like eyes and took in a deep breath.

 **«**

I sat in the corner of my cell. I felt dizzy today, but I didn't really care. This was just everyday now. I woke up, I ate (but only sometimes), I slept some more. Ever since Klink died, I had had nothing to do. No books to read. Nothing new to learn. But today was going to be different, and I was about to find out.

I had heard some of the guards rushing past my cell door earlier, and I gathered that trouble was on its way.

Suddenly a loud gut-wrenching scream from a woman was heard and I felt my heart stop for a second. Not even seconds later, the cell door sprung open, and a teenage boy entered my cell. I shot up from my corner and pressed my body against the wall, frightened. He looked at me and his expression turned confused.

"Wha-…Who- "

"Please don't hurt me," was all I could get out in a tiny voice.

He scrunched his brows, moved a little closer with his hands now in front of him as if I was an animal he wanted to calm down, and said: "No, I'm – we're not here to hurt you…"

He came closer and I pressed more firmly into the wall, willing tears to go away.

"We're looking for something called the sana-weapon…do…do you know what that is?" The boy asked while taking a step forward.

I didn't answer, I just looked at him. He was the first boy I had ever seen around my age, and just as I opened my mouth slightly, a teenage girl came rushing in, kind of like the boy had done.

"Stiles, what's taking- "She stopped, staring at me, mouth agape, but then continued: "It's…a girl?"

The boy now known as Stiles shifted his gaze to the girl, "Yeah…but I don't know if she's…it"

I looked at both of them and shifted my weight, so I could move further away from them.

"What do you want?" I asked.

They sent each other a look.

"We're here to save you," said the girl, and smiled a small reassuring smile.

The escape from my cell, I only remember in bits. I was rushed out by the girl and saw the guards lying on the floor. We got out of the building in the dark and entered a car waiting there for us. A woman with shortish dark blond hair sat behind the wheel. I remember her asking who the hell I was and where the weapon was. To this Stiles had just sent her a pointed look, as if to tell her to shut up, and asked her to drive. During the drive my exhaustion took over, despite me fighting to stay awake, and within a few minutes I was asleep.

I woke up what the car came to a halt. I flinched and immediately opened my eyes.

Stiles was looking at me from the front passengers' seat and sent me a small smile. We were in front of a clinic of some sort, and the others started opening the doors, getting out.

Stiles opened mine and held out his hand for me to take. I hesitated, but thought, no matter what they want, it can't be worse than the hunters.

"Don't worry, you're safe now." He said. There was something in the way he said it, that made me relax a bit more. I realized that I started believing him.

We entered the clinic, and I saw anatomy posters of animals everywhere.

"In here," the girl who'd driven the car pointed to a room.

The room turned out to be an examination room, and now there were more people. I stopped in my tracks and hid a little behind Stiles. There were three men in the room. One wearing a lab coat, the others normal clothes.

"It's a girl," said one of the men.

"Well…yeah, Derek it is…" Stiles said starting to sound annoyed about the fact that that was the only thing people could say.

I was placed on the slab and the man in the lab coat, Dr Deaton, started examining me while the others discussed heavily. When he was done with my eyes and throat, he turned around and told the others in the room, that he was now going to examine my chest and lungs, meaning they should all leave as he had to undress me.

The girl called Lydia, said that she and Malia should go and get me some clothes to wear and left. The boys went to the lobby and waited there. I looked down at my dress. It was the only one I had, and it was dirty. It used to be a light blue dress, but with no actual detail to it. I had seen it once in one of the books Klink brought me, and she'd told me that it was the kind of dress that one would wear when hospitalized. Deaton opened the dress by the ties it had on the sides.

He walked around me and took a look at my naked back. The scars were endless in both size and numbers.

"How did you acquire these?" he asked in a soft voice.

"The hunters made them…"

He sent me a sympathetic smile and continued.

"What were they made with?"

"Blades mostly. Something sharp. Anything really."

I didn't understand the sympathetic look he sent me.

"I'm just going to clean them, and I think a few of them needs stitching. Would that be okay with you?"

I could tell he was being really careful. It was a nice change.

I nodded.

It took a while for him to finish, because he was being as gentle as possible. I hardly felt it as he gave me some sort of injection. He held my dress up to my chest and told me he was just going to go get my clothes from the girls. I covered myself with the dress as he left. I wondered what was going to happen to me now. A tiny part of me wished that I hadn't been saved, because now everything was so unsure and foreign to me.

Deaton came back with a pile of clothes, and I started putting it on. The comfort it gave me was almost enough to make me cry. The grey knitted sweater was thick and comfy, and the leggings stretchy and warm.

I walked out and into the lobby. Lydia gave me a bag and said that she had a lot of spare clothes I could have.

The others were silent and all but the one called Derek were smiling at me.

"What happens now?" I asked.

Their smiles faltered a bit as they sent looks around to each other.

"Uhm…yeah… I mean…you can stay with me?" Stiles said.

And that's how I ended up staying with Stiles and his dad.

Malia told me later on that she had stayed there too once, but now she lived with Lydia. Both Stiles and Scott only had one parent, and no guestrooms, but we managed.

We entered the house and I came in behind Stiles.

"Dad?" he yelled out.

A few moments later a man came down the stairs.

"Hey Stiles… oh, who's this?" he asked.

Stiles turned to look at me, and then said "Ehm…long story…but she's going to live with us." He looked at his dad in a way where I knew the last statement wasn't really a statement but more like a question.

"Oh, is she now," His dad said, lifting an eyebrow and sending Stiles a strict look. Stiles didn't say anything, he just smiled and sent his dad a pleading look.

With a sigh and a small smile, his dad shook his head and held out his hand to me.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Noah Stilinski. You can just call me Noah."

I shook his hand carefully. When I didn't say anything, he tilted his head a little and continued: "What's your name?"

I looked at Stiles, who suddenly looked taken aback.

"Uhm…I…don't have one?" I said embarrassed. I'd never really thought about it because Klink always just called me 'sweetheart', but no one had ever given me one.

They shared a look and Noah turned to Stiles, saying that he should show me to his room and then come down to talk.

 **«**

I showed her to my room and knew I had a serious explaining to do when I got downstairs again. She stood in my room frozen to the spot.

"Uhm, you can take the bed, and I'll sleep on the sofa downstairs," I said.

She slowly walked over to the bed and let her hand slice across it.

"You okay?" I asked.

She looked up at me and smiled for the first time, although a small one.

"Yeah…I've just never had one…"

"What, a name?" I asked, while taking off my hoodie.

"Well, that too…but I meant a bed."

I stopped.

I realized that the room I had gotten her out of, only had a thin mattress on the floor. I was filled with empathy and didn't know what to say.

"I'll…just go talk to my dad. But I'll be back soon…I promise." I smiled at her, hoping it would sooth whatever she was feeling.

Walking into the living room, my dad was sitting on the sofa, already sending me one of those looks that made me squirm.

"Dad, I know- " I started, only to be interrupted.

"No Stiles, I don't think you do! What the hell were you thinking? Malia was one thing, she at least knew her own bloody name, but this?! Who the hell is this girl, and why on earth don't you know her name?"

I sat down.

"Look, I know this looks crazy, but promise there's a good reason for her being here…"

He waited for me to continue.

"Okay so, I don't really know who she is but– "My dad let out a huge sigh lifting his arms in an exasperated manner.

"Stiles for heavens sake!"

"No, I know, I know! But we saved her from some hunters, and she's some sort of weapon I think, and she has nowhere to go, and she's all alone in the world, so we don't really have a choice! She's supernatural, or at least we think she is, but…" I knew I was rambling, but I hadn't really thought this through.

"Stiles…what the hell is your plan," my dad asked now in a more calmly manner.

I told him I didn't quite know yet. I told him about the mission, and how I had found her.

"So…she's dangerous?" he asked.

"…I don't know…"

"Well, what can she do?" he asked.

I didn't say anything.

"You don't know…" he then said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"No…I know this looks bad, but we have taken her away from everything she's ever known, and we have to help her…right?" I asked, hoping I was winning him over.

He let out another sigh.

"What are we gonna do?"

I knew he was somewhat on board.

"We need do make her exist…so she needs like a social security number and stuff…that way she can like…go to school or get a job or like…you know…exist?" I said.

"And how are we going to get her that Stiles, you know I can't get her that?"

"I know, but maybe Melissa can? She works at a hospital, so maybe she can get her some kind of identity?"

He sent me another look.

"Stiles, that's identity theft!"

"Yeah, but what else can we do?" I asked, hoping he had the answers.

He looked long and hard at me. I knew he was thinking, and that I had somehow convinced him to help this girl.

"I'll call Melissa…but she needs a name, let alone a last name!"

I leapt up from my seat across him and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, dad!"

"Don't thank me yet, but I'll see what I can do."

I let go of him and started making my way to the stairs, calling back: "I'll find out what she wants her name to be."

Entering the room, she shot up from where she'd been sitting on the bed.

"Don't get up," I said, "I've talked to my dad, and he's going to help us. We just need to find you a name."

She looked at me with knitted brows still standing beside the bed.

"How?"

Okay, I didn't really think of that. A name was just something one was given at birth. It seemed weird to give a young adult a name. I had to fit the personality, but I didn't know her.

I thought for a second.

"When we came looking for you, we were told to look for something called a sana-weapon, right? Why don't we call you Sana?"

She looked like she was considering it.

"Sana?"

"Well…yeah? If you don't like it, we can just choose something else?"

She thought for a second.

"No…It's okay I guess…"

"Okay…Sana it is…how about your last name? Any ideas?"

She slowly sat down on the bed again.

"Well…what's yours?" she asked.

This took me by surprise.

"Ehm…Stilinski…but you can't really…I mean, that would indicate that we were related, cause no one around here is called that but me and my dad so…there would be a lot of explanation if that was your name…like…you're my cousin or something…you know?"

She looked confused…

"Okay you don't…just…pick something else, like…I don't know…Duncan…"

She wrinkled her nose.

"Yeah, that was bad, uhm…I don't know."

I looked around the room and spotted a book. I grabbed it and tossed it to her.

"Try looking in this and see if you get any ideas, and I'll look online"

I spend 15 minutes just saying random last names hoping she like one and feel like that was her name.

"How about Cooper?" I asked.

"Uhm…I don't know…it feels a bit weird" she said.

"Sana Cooper? Yeah, no…how about Sana Davis?" I tried.

"It just…it doesn't feel…familiar…I'm sorry, this is really hard" Sana said, looking down onto her hands.

I got up from my seat and sat down on the bed next to her.

"Hey…it's okay. A lot happened today…and it's like…in the middle of the night, so you must be really tired, but we kinda need to find you a name so you can exist properly."

I hesitated, but then reached over to cover her hand with mine, trying to console her. She only flinched a tiny bit.

"Well…" she began, "Which one do you like?"

She wanted me to choose.

"Well…I like both Wilson and Reed…but I don't know if you feel like they fit?"

"Sana Wilson…I think that's okay…what do you think?" Sana asked.

"It's good…" I said in a low voice, "you should get some sleep now…let me know if you change your mind about the name, okay?"

I went over to my dresser and found a t-shirt for her to sleep in.

"Here, you can sleep in this. Tomorrows Saturday, so we don't have to worry about school yet."

"School?"

"Yeah, I mean…wait…how old are you?" I asked suddenly realizing I had no idea.

"Uhm…I don't know…how old are you?" she looked embarrassed.

I looked at how uncomfortable she was.

"I'm 18…why don't we just say that you're 18 as well then?" I hoped taking control over this one would ease her a bit.

"Okay…"

Once again, she smiled a little bit.

After a moment of weird silence, I said: "you do know that you're safe here now…right?"

She looked at me, her eyes full of hope. I spoke again: "Derek and Scott took care of the hunters…so…no one knows who you are or…like...what you can do."

"I can't tell you!" She blurted out sounding scared.

"Oh, no I…I wasn't going to ask…I mean, I'd like to know if you're like super dangerous and will kill me and my dad while we sleep, but…I mean…I guess you'll tell me when…if you're ready…at some point"

She nodded after a little while, and then smiled again, but this time a bit nervously.

I gave her the t-shirt, said goodnight and went downstairs to sleep on the sofa.

 **«**

I was lying in bed saying my name out loud.

"Sana Wilson"

And again.

"Sana Wilson"

It felt so strange to have a name, but that thought was soon consumed by how comfortable I was. The bed smelled warm and safe, and the mattress was comfortable. I could sense the smell of Stiles, and something about him made me feel safe. He showed me the same kindness Klink had, and perhaps that was the reason.

I didn't sleep much that night, other than a few times I'd close my eyes and wake up shortly after because of a new sound I wasn't familiar with.

Around 10 am I heard a knock on the door. I walked over and opened it revealing Stiles on the other side. He smiled, until he saw I was just wearing the t-shirt and my underwear. Then he suddenly looked a bit nervous and avoided looking directly at me.

"Ehm, good morning Sana…I eh…I made breakfast, so…why don't you like, put some clothes on and come down?"

"Okay…I'll be down in a second…" I said, a bit confused by his reaction.

I put on the leggings from last night but kept the t-shirt I'd slept in on and walked down the stairs to find Stiles flailing around in the kitchen with frying pans.

As I sat down, he put more food on the table.

"It looks really nice," I said as he sat down at the table.

"Great! Dig in!"

We ate in silence mostly, but he asked if I have changed my mind about the name over the night. I hadn't.

After breakfast he showed me where the shower was and let me take my time in there. I felt incredibly soothing having the water run down my back and over my scars, some of which were still a little open.

After getting dresses, Stiles said that we had to go to the hospital to see someone called Melissa, about making me exist on paper.

The weekend went by quite fast, and every night I'd sleep in Styles' bed, although I hardly slept. I could tell it was taking its toll on me, and when we reached Monday, I had my first day of school. I was terrified and exhausted. Melissa turned out to be Scott's mom, and she enrolled me at Beacon Hills High School, while Lydia came by on Sunday to teach me a few things about "being a girl" as she said. Being a girl apparently included knowing what to do with my hair and make-up, and to dress "cute". I'd grasped on to enough of it, to not be stared at more than necessarily.

The first day was fine. I had Scott and Stiles with me in English which was my first period, and I surprised them with how well I did. I hadn't exactly told them about Klink and how she had schooled me during my childhood.

During lunchbreak I sat in the cafeteria with the boys.

"Why do I have to go to school again?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Because, you need to graduate to have a job and like, survive in this world," Stiles answered.

"I know it sucks, but you'll get used to it," Scott said smiling at me.

We sat in silence a bit. I saw how Scott kept glancing over at me.

"So…Sana…what eh…what is it you can do?" He asked, making me freeze.

"Scott!" Stiles exasperated and looked at him like he'd just asked for my bra-size.

"I…I can't…" I didn't know what to say. The hunters always told me that if I anyone else found out, that person would use me for personal gain and would torture me more than they had ever done. They also said that they only did it when I wasn't complying.

"You don't have to answer that Sana," Stiles said, and then turned to Scott.

"She'll say it when she's ready, dude!"

Scott held up his hands in an apologetic way.

"Sorry…"

I was grateful that Stiles had jumped in at my defence, and so I sent him a grateful smile.

We didn't speak of it again.

They days went past like that. School, homework, hanging out with the boys and sometimes Lydia. I didn't talk much to Malia, and I got the feeling that she didn't really like me. I had no idea why however.

Lydia had taken me shopping one day, saying I needed a jacket as it was November and the snow would come soon. She also said I was kind of hopeless, because I refused to wear dresses. But they reminded me of my blue dress and made me feel vulnerable. I instead opted for a few oversize t-shirts, some leggings and jeans. I also liked the vans I found because they reminded me of a pair I knew Stiles had.

I was leaning more and more towards him, as he felt like home in this crazy life I suddenly had. He was kinda my rock. His dad treated me like I was family and I had only been living with them for three weeks.

I contemplated telling Stiles what I could do, but I was too scared that this was all an act, because it all seemed too good to be true.

I had changed a lot over the past weeks. I felt more and more safe every single day and I "came out of my shell" as Stiles called it. I became more and more sure of who I was, discovered interests, likes and dislikes. For instance, I liked watching films, but I disliked the dark.

There was still one mayor issue. I hardly slept at night. I kept having horrifying nightmares, and I just couldn't shake them off. I kept falling asleep in the jeep, when we drove to school and back, and I could tell Stiles and the others were noticing something was up. I even overheard Melissa saying something to Noah about post-traumatic stress and that they should consider talking to me about it. They clammed up when I came down the stairs though.

No one had said anything yet though.

 **«**

Driving home, I asked Sana if she wanted to go over to Scott's and play some videogames. I then realized that I hadn't introduced her to videogames yet.

"It's like the films, but you control it yourself," I tried explaining.

I looked fondly at her when she scrunched her nose at what I was saying.

"Why though?" She asked.

I had gotten used to questions like that. Sometimes it felt like hanging out with someone from the past. There were so many things she'd never been introduced to when we first met, and I liked being the one introducing her to all these new things. It actually made me appreciate it more. Just seeing her experience, a film for the first time was incredible. Her eyes had been glued to the screen and she had bundled up in a blanket on the sofa next to me. I even went to make popcorn, but she barely ate any, being too engrossed in the film.

"Well…it's fun?" I said, although it came out as a question. She laughed.

"Are you sure?"

I loved when she laughed. My mind went back to when I had heard it the first time. We were in the living room and had just been talking a bit about school. I got up to go to the bathroom when I slipped and landed behind the sofa out of sight. I think it was the way I hurriedly got up again my arms flailing about, but it could also have been the way my face went red with embarrassment, that made her laugh. Maybe it was a combination. Either way, she tried covering her mouth while laughing, but couldn't hold it in and her laughter made me laugh as well.

"Yeah I'm sure. Just say yes, and I'll show you it's fun," I rolled my eyes.

"Okay…can't wait."

I glanced over at her and saw how she was looking at me smiling.

After a few minutes of silence, I noticed her nodding off like usual. I decided to talk to her about it.

"Hey Sana…you still awake?"

"Mmhh?"

"Are you…sleeping okay at night?"

I knew I was om my way into dangerous territory, but I couldn't keep ignoring the way she looked exhausted and always fell asleep in the car.

She didn't answer at first.

"No…I just…I keep having these really bade dreams…I can't really…explain it."

She looked uncomfortable, just like I knew she would be addressing this.

"Why haven't you said anything?"

I kept my voice soft, so she knew I cared and wasn't annoyed she hadn't said anything.

"I don't know…"

I glanced at her.

"Well…next time just…ask for some help or…like, talk to me…okay?"

Silence.

"…okay…"

We played videogames most of the day and it was just as entertaining to see Sana play games as it was to see her watch films. I caught Scott staring at me with a smile I couldn't define.

"What?" I asked, looking at my best friend.

"Nothing…could you help me get some more snack in the kitchen?"

We were barely there when he turned around and went: "You do realize I can hear heartbeats…right?" I now identified the smile as a little smug.

"Well…yeah? So what?"

He laughed and grabbed some more snacks.

"I think you should be careful with her…"

"What? What do you mean?!" I let him pile things onto my arms.

"Just that, whenever you're looking at her and she turns so you have eye contact, your heartbeat peaks."

"Does not!" I exasperated in a defensive tone.

"It does! I'm not teasing Stiles…just…be careful. We still don't know what she's capable of…okay? That's all I'm saying." He put a hand on my shoulder and gave it a little squeeze.

"I don't like her like that? She's like…a sister…" as soon as I said sister, I regretted it.

"Don't…don't call her that…that's like saying you have the hots for your sister. Gross" Scott wrinkled his nose and walked into the living room again.

I followed, and my eyes instantly went to her.

"Yeah, definitely not a sister…" I said under my breath.

I caught another smug smile from Scott.

A/N - please leave a comment - i would love love LOVE to hear if i should continue this


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hey! It's been a while! But I've spend a few weeks with the plot and I'm now ready to actually write this with a lot of plot twists and fluffy moments, heart-breaking ones too, and I'm so excited for what you think! Please let me know!

RnR please! - DN

Once again, I had a nightmare. But tonight, it was horrifying beyond belief.

 _I ran through the headquarters but kept running into a dead-end. I heard the hunters chasing me and shouting after me. Suddenly I was back in my cell, but it looked different. It had the posters from Stiles' room on the walls, and the door was his. I tried to open it, but I couldn't, so I took a few steps back attempting to knock it down. Finally, it worked, but stood on the other side was Scott and Stiles. They looked like themselves, but their eyes and smile didn't have the usual warmth. Instead they looked malicious. Like his eyes._

" _Where do you think you're going" Stiles said, shoving me into the room so hard that I fell over._

" _What are you doing," I tired, holding up my arm as protection._

" _Shut up!" Scott spat, and grabbed my arm, lifting me up onto the bed._

 _The next thing I knew Scott was on top of me with his hands around my neck, suffocating me._

" _Cry, you stupid girl! Cry!" Scott screamed._

I woke and sat up in one smooth motion. I felt like I couldn't breathe, and a hand flew to my neck, as if to check for Scott's hands. I slowly regained my ability to breathe normally, but my body was riddled with anxiety. I didn't know what to do. I contemplated what to do for a while, until my senses won over my fear, and I opened the door to the hallway.

Walking down the stairs as quietly as I could, I realized I was only wearing a long oversize t-shirt and my underwear. I'd seen the look on his face once before when I also just wore this, and he had given me this weird talk about something called modesty, but right now I didn't care.

I walked over to the sofa where Stiles was sleeping. He looked really peaceful, and guilt hit me, but it was not as strong as my fear. It hit me that I was a little afraid of dream-him.

"Stiles…Stiles wake up" I whispered while putting my hand on his shoulder, ignoring the pangs of anxiety.

He started waking up, but when he realized it was me, he sprung up into sitting position and looked alarmed.

"What!? What is it? Are you okay?"

I flinched, then shushed him and said "Yeah, everything's okay"

He looked relieved and ran a hand through his hair.

"Okay…what is it?"

"Uhm…I just…I had a really bad dream…" I whispered, not looking directly at him.

I felt stupid waking him up, telling him this, but he had asked me to. He looked like he wanted to approach this carefully.

"I can't sleep…" I finally whispered after a long pause.

He looked like he wasn't sure what to do, but then said:

"Oh, okay…do you…do you want to talk about it, or…want me to like…I don't know…hug you?" He sounded a bit nervous, but I wasn't sure.

"I don't know…yeah maybe a hug?" I said. I sat down on the sofa next to him and it felt really awkward. This was why I didn't say anything before.

We looked at each other for a few seconds, making it even more awkward. We'd never really hugged before. Come to think of it, we'd never really had that much physical contact.

"You know what, this was a bad idea," I said and got up.

Stiles grabbed my hand before I could leave and once again, I flinched.

"No! No, don't worry, just…come here…"

I looked at him, and then slowly sat down again. He smiled, and I saw the familiar warmth within his eyes and smile. He pulled me closer, until I was leaning towards him, and I felt my heartbeat go funny.

He then put his arms around me locking my arms against his chest. It wasn't tight or anything, but I felt the position was a bit uncomfortable, with me having to lean so much because I sat too far away. I scooted closer and rested my head under his chin. I could feel my body relaxing and the anxiety slowly leaving my body. I let go of a long sigh and closed my eyes.

"It's a biological thing…hugs help with anxiety because the brain releases a chemical…" Stiles said quietly.

I don't know for how long we sat like that, but I gradually felt myself drifting off, and only slightly noticed being pulled down so I was lying next to him, though still in his arms. My last thought before falling completely asleep was how exhausted I was.

It took me a while to fall asleep that night. Sana was lying next to me, well, halfway on top of me actually. The sofa was clearly only designed for one, and I silently thanked god that I was wearing pyjama bottoms and a t-shirt, otherwise it would have been way too intimate. I listened to her breathing and wondered what kind of horrifying nightmare could keep someone up most nights. I must admit that I had considered letting Melissa drug her, just so she could get some sleep. But as my dad had said, it would have been unethical…apparently. But I was just worried. I needed to figure out a way for her to trust us, so she could tell us what her abilities were, but I was scared she'd think it was the only reason we wanted her to trust us. Scott was on my case every second he got, which luckily wasn't that many. She was usually by my side. We'd sort of become a unit in a way. But she still didn't trust me. I hated the fact that she didn't. I liked not being the only child in the house in a way. Scott was kinda my brother, and we practically grew up together, but it was nice having someone else in the house besides me and my dad.

I wondered what he thought of this whole situation. He sure wasn't happy about it at first, but now he seemed like he enjoyed it too. I know he wanted more kids when my mom was alive. He once told me when I had poured whisky in his glass in an attempt to get him to talk about some confidential case. He opened up about her, and he said he missed her. He then said that he wished he'd been able to give me a sibling, and that he sometimes worried that I was lonely as a child. I couldn't listen to it, so I sort of comforted him by saying that I'd never needed anything he hadn't been able to give me, and then went to my room. A bit coward-like, I know. I wasn't sure if it was true. I needed my mom. I missed her so much it still hurt too much to think about her.

I shifted a little and Sana stirred a little in her sleep. She looked peaceful. Her brows were a little scrunched up, so I brushed my fingertips against her cheek. Her mouth twitched a little and I froze. She cuddled a bit more into me and it made me smile. This was the closest we'd ever been physically. I knew if she was awake, she'd pull away. She was still very flinchy, kinda like a wild animal. So, I enjoyed being able to hold her for a bit. And yes, I knew how creepy that sounded. But I just couldn't imagine what kind of terrible things she'd gone through, or perhaps I just didn't want to imagine. I wondered If anyone had ever held her and made her feel safe. Maybe Melissa was right. Maybe Sana should go talk to someone. But then again. If she wouldn't tell us what was going on inside her head, chances were she'd never tell a stranger.

I felt myself drift into sleep but got pulled back a little when I felt her squeeze me a bit. She put her leg over one of mine, and it suddenly felt very intimate. She couldn't help it, she was sleeping. But there was something in knowing that if she were awake, she'd never have done that. It felt a bit like I took advantage of the situation. I turned a bit onto my side, so her leg slid off me and just then, she turned around in my arms, so she had her back to my front. I let out a long breath, and propped my head up, using my arm as a pillow, and finally I fell asleep again.

I woke up in the morning when I heard my dad in the kitchen. Sana was still sleeping next to me, but her front was now against mine. She had one hand on my chest, just over my heart, and the other was tangled in my t-shirt. I gulped, and de-tangled her hand, so I could slide out of her grip. I succeeded without her waking up and made my way into the kitchen.

"Morning dad," I said with a yarn.

"Morning Stiles…Tired?"

I opened the fridge and pulled out a carton of orange juice.

"Yeah, have you made coffee?" I asked.

He sent me a look. It was a look that was both worried and scolding at the same time. I looked at the carton in my hand.

"I was gonna get a glass?" I said, thinking he was scolding me for wanting to drink directly out of the carton.

"Do we need to have…the talk?" He said.

"WHAT?"

He shushed me and looked towards the living room.

I realized what he meant.

"Oh, no! No! Like…No, dad! It's not – we weren't!"

He let out a big sigh and shook his head while starting to get up.

"Look, I'm not gonna say anything besides this: she's been through a lot, and you should be careful for her sake. Okay?"

"No, but dad. It's not like that. She had a nightmare and couldn't sleep…but she slept through the night this way…I think she was just scared."

My dad didn't say anything at first. Then he nodded a bit.

"Okay…you do know that I'm okay with her being here, right?"

"Yeah…I know." I smiled at him.

I wondered if I should hug him. He always opened his home up to people. He'd always welcomed Scott and now Sana.

"Thanks dad…"

He smiled back but let out a sigh.

"When I said…the talk, I didn't mean…you know…the talk…I sorta gather that, that's a bit too late considering Malia and all that –"

I interrupted him.

"Please dad, we don't need to have that conversation!"

"No, no I know…I just meant that…from what you've told me, she's not had it the easy way…and maybe she's even dangerous…I just don't want you to get hurt."

He had that look about him.

"I know…dad…I know."

"Morning…" Sana said as she entered the kitchen looking sleepy.

We both sprang into action, making us look both look kinda guilty. She didn't seem to notice though. Dad started pouring coffee into three cups and I got some cereal down from the shelf.

"Morning," my dad said and handed her a cup of coffee while smiling, "did you sleep well?" He then asked.

I cringed inwardly and wanted to say something.

"Yeah, I guess," Sana answered, not looking up from her cereal.

When she finally looked up after a minute or two, she looked a bit cautious.

"Sooo…what are we doing today?"

"Well…I have lacrosse practice with Scott today, so…you can pretty much do whatever you want…you can come with us and watch?"

Sana thought for a second.

"No, I think I might hear Lydia if she can hang out…I have some homework and stuff I wanted to talk to her about," she then said getting up from her seat.

"Do you want me to text her?" I asked. The air felt a little different between us, but I wasn't sure if I was imagining it.

"Yes please…and…could you maybe drop me off at her place on your way to practice?"

I paused a bit, watching her put her bowl in the sink and wash it.

"Sure…"

Stiles dropped me off at Lydia's place after a short ride there. I could tell he was side-eyeing me a few times, while he talked about the upcoming game the next Friday. I told him I'd come and see them, as he'd made first line, which apparently was a really big deal. He seemed excited.

Lydia was still in her robe when I arrived, but she told me it was 'pamper' day…which meant that I had to change into some sort of PJ's and put on facemasks with her. I really liked it. My skin felt super soft afterwards. A whole lot of 'aftercare' followed, and we talked about school, movies, make up and anything else.

"I was thinking about something…" I said, not sure how to start.

"Mmhh?" Lydia was painting another layer of after-mask on her face.

"You talk a lot about boys…"

Lydia squinted her eyes and made eye contact with me through the mirror.

"Yeah…where are you going with this Sana?"

When I didn't answer, she stopped what she was doing and turned in her seat, so she could look directly at me. She softened her look and voice.

"Why do you ask Sana?"

I picked at my fingernails and wished I hadn't begun the talk in that way.

"I just…I don't think I get it…"

"What do you mean; get it?" She asked with a tilted head.

"Well…you talk about them in different ways…like…there's Scott and Stiles…and you talk about them a certain way, but then there's like…Bryant from the other class, and Jake from that party that one time where you just like…had to have him, as you said…I just don't get the difference?"

Lydia looked like she was thinking for a while. Kinda like when Stiles was doing maths in his head.

"Do you mean like…that you don't understand the whole being into a guy-thing? Or have I misunderstood?"

Another pause.

"Yeah I guess that's what I mean."

"Oh waw…I didn't even think of this…you don't know how it feels, or what it…looks like?"

I shook my head.

"How do you explain love to someone…" Lydia asked herself out loud.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked –"

"– Yes, of course you should have…it just never occurred to me that you didn't know, because…well everybody else grows up knowing about it and sort of…chasing it."

She got up from her seat by the vanity and sat down next to me on the bed.

"Okay so…perhaps I should explain the difference between love and lust, because those are two very different things…well…then again…not always…" She let out a sigh, "Okay, this is harder than I thought…lust is…like biology…your body will get all tingly and warm and…you lower regions will get like…wet and…" she paused, opening her mouth a couple of times, no words coming out.

"I'm sorry, I'm not doing a great job at this…"

I considered telling her she didn't have to.

"You know what…I'm just gonna text Stiles that you're staying over for a sleep-over and then we'll talk all night about this, and I'll show you some romantic movies and you can ask all the questions you want…how does that sound?"

I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep but after the night before, maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

"Yeah that sounds good."

Lydia got up to find her phone but stopped for a second.

"Oh my god, I totally forgot! I got you something!"

She rummaged through her bag by the door and pulled out a cell phone.

"This is my old phone, I thought you might want it. It has a sim card and everything. My mom and I have this family-deal, so I just put yours under ours, so you don't have to worry about paying for it…I asked my mom, and she thought it was a really good idea."

I took the phone in my hand. It was one of those smartphones where you could take pictures and text and everything.

"Are…are you sure?"

"Yeah! You don't have a phone, and this way we don't have to text each other from Stiles' phone all the time," she said looking really happy.

"This is so nice of you…please thank your mom as well…I…this is really nice of you!"

I blushed a bit and felt warm in my stomach.

"I'm just happy I can help you a bit…"

We shared a look. I was really happy I had Lydia. She had been so nice to me since we'd met. In the beginning, I thought she was a bit bossy, but that faded quickly and now she was a really good friend.

"Thank you…"

I thought I saw Lydia's eyes get a bit glossy for a second, but she quickly cleared her throat and sat down again.

"You should text Stiles yourself then…I'll help you," she added, seeing me fumble with the phone. Stiles texted back that it was really cool that I had a phone now, and that it was cool with him that I stayed over.

"Okay, so back to the topic at hand…"

We got comfortable on her bed and she told me about how the body reacted when you experienced lust.

"Love on the other hand is different. Love can be a few different things. So like…I love my mom…I know this because of that weird warm feeling in my stomach, but I have also loved a boy…like, do you remember I told you about this guy Jackson?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"Okay so…I loved him, like really loved him…but that was different kinda love. That was the kinda love where lust was there too. I also love Scott and Stiles, but not like that, because that's as friends, and they're like my brothers…I'd never have any kinda lust for them."

"Sooo…you have to have lust…if it's someone you love romantically?" I asked, still confused.

"Yes…and also no…ugh…this is hard." She laughed.

I thought for a minute.

"Well, how do you know that you love someone romantically, and not just the other way?"

Lydia paused, thinking.

"I think you just know…and I think you'd know too when it happens to you."

"Look, there's a reason there's like a million songs, poems and movies written about love…no one really gets it until they experience it."

Lydia put on a movie about a guy who gets paid to take out this girl, so that her younger sister can date this other guy, because their dad has this rule that the younger sibling can't date until the older one does.

I was really good, and during we talked more about the concept of love.

We talked most of the day, evening and night and watched movies and listened to songs. Lydia told me about her relationship with Jackson, and I wondered if she still loved him.

At some point Lydia looked at me and asked: "Why did you ask?"

"What do you mean?"

"Was it just because you didn't know, or…do you think you might like someone?"

"I don't know…I think I just…last night…I had a nightmare again, and I…I went downstairs and Stiles…well…he kinda…held me, and…I really liked it. But I just don't know why."

Lydia turned onto her side from where she was lying on the bed.

"Did…something else happen?"

"What do you mean?"

"Did…did you kiss or something like that?"

"WHAT no! No, nothing like that…it wasn't like that…" I exasperated, halfway laughing.

Lydia laughed too.

"Easy there, it was just a question…"

Silence fell between us.

"Do you think you'd like to kiss him?" She asked.

"No…I don't…it was just…he made me feel safe…and I think he cares…"

Lydia smiled.

"Of course he cares."

"Maybe he likes me like a sister?" I asked.

"…Maybe…"

I barely slept that night. I couldn't tell if it was because of the topic we'd talked about most of the night, or just the usual reason, but anyhow I was happy to be in Stiles jeep the morning after.

"Did you…did you sleep last night?" Stiles asked.

I was already nodding off.

"No, not really..."


End file.
